


Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady

by PhrancesP



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-02-13
Packaged: 2018-03-12 03:28:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3341873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhrancesP/pseuds/PhrancesP
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was a Valentine's Day in February 1929, but no one really knows how Phryne and Jack marked the occasion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady

Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady  
By PhrancesP

Be your law the ancient saw  
‘Faint heart never won fair lady!’

Iolanthe (1882)  
W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan

Set between Murder Most Scandalous (January 1929) and Death Comes Knocking (March 1929), this is the “missing” Valentine’s Day scene that was never written for Season 2. Thanks to Kerry Greenwood for her lovely characters, and to Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries for setting the stage for lovers.

 

Detective Inspector Jack Robinson had become accustomed to the more sordid aspects of his job, which meant that today’s visit to the Imperial Club for Gentlemen was all in the line of duty. The club had been closed for “renovations” for the last few weeks, following the unpleasantness set off by the murder of Lavinia, a popular hostess, and the accidental death of the doorman, Maury, who apparently had been her murderer. It was Madame Lyon’s professional opinion that all of her girls needed some roses in their cheeks, and she had sent them on a holiday to the beach.

Jack’s visit to the club was an administrative one. He was closing the file on the murder investigation and he needed to confirm that all of the relevant evidence had been swept from the site. Madame Lyon was not particularly friendly when he arrived, but she was cooperative. He searched her office first, finding nothing of interest, and then proceeded down to the dressing room. It seemed to Jack that every surface was covered with mysterious pots and powders, brushes and other implements that were completely foreign to him. 

Keeping his hands in his pockets he prowled around the room, looking for something out of the ordinary that might be important to have for his files. He felt like a voyeur, looking at the magical elements that could transform an ordinary girl into a hostess who could bring down upstanding married politicians and businessmen with a whisper. Jack turned to leave the room, noticing abstractly his warring feelings of disgust and salacious interest. It was then that he noticed the pink feathers, curled around the edge of a standing mirror in the corner of the room. He closed his eyes, easily drawing up the image that was burned into his mind, of the Honorable Miss Phryne Fisher, dressed in nothing but a few inches of pink feathers below the waist, and a tangled web of sparkling chains and gems across her shoulders. She had danced her way into his more intimate fantasies when she had turned and bared herself to him, and the room full of admiring strangers.

Jack pulled out the feathered fans and lifted them to his face. He brushed the feathers lightly across his cheek and breathed in her scent. These he would take. They were not evidence, of course, but they were personal property. He would return them to Miss Fisher right away. 

After two pleasant nights, Jack decided that he could not keep the fan feathers in his house any longer. Today his cleaning lady would arrive, and she would be very upset at the sight of them on his bed. He covered them with a blanket in the back of his car and hoped that he would not need to go out on police business during the day.

That evening, after a dose of liquid courage in his office, Jack rapped on the door of Miss Fisher’s beautiful mansion. He admired the sunset glowing on the red ironwork around her door, and turned to greet Mr. Butler with a smile. “Good evening, Detective Inspector.” Mr. Butler did not raise an eyebrow at the sight of the two enormous pink fans. Jack waited in the entry for Phryne. He could hear her voice calling out to Dot as she started down the stairs. Feeling light-hearted, he held the fans up in front of his face, crossing his arms. When Phryne came down the stairs she saw the feathers, held together in the shape of a heart, in front of him.

“Jack!” she exclaimed. “I must say, fan feathers DO work for you!” He swept the fans down and away from his face in a faint imitation of her dance, and she laughed in delight. “Miss Fisher, I have some property of yours.” He kept his face serious, but his eyes were bright and playful. 

Miss Fisher rewarded him with a glass of deep red wine. He could not see the difference in color between the wine and her lipstick, although he tried very hard to compare them dispassionately. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Jack.” He drank to cover his confusion and surprise. When it was time for him to leave she reached up and tucked a small pink feather into his buttonhole. He thought she would be able to feel his heart beating under her hands, but she did not pull away from him. Her eyelashes rose up, revealing a calm, open gaze, which was swept away in an instant by something naughty and hot. “Jack, you’d better keep this one close at hand in your personal file, in case you need to brush up on the matter.” He nodded, tongue-tied, as usual, when near her. He tapped his forehead with his finger, smiling ruefully. “I have the finer details committed to memory, Miss Fisher. It’s my job.” She grinned, releasing his lapel. 

He surprised himself, then, turning over his shoulder to say, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Phryne.” She dipped her head, pleased, and blew a light kiss from her fingertips as he faded into the night.


End file.
